A Hidden Light
by Cherri Snow
Summary: A lit candle hides behind a black curtain, carefully hidden and protected. If exposed, there is the possibility of it being encouraged by another flame or extinguished by the wind. KiKuro oneshot. First part of the 'Light Series' and can be seen as the prologue.


**A Hidden Light**

_A lit candle hides behind a black curtain, carefully hidden and protected. If exposed, there is the possibility of it being encouraged by another flame or extinguished by the wind._

* * *

With less than ten seconds left, there was no time to waste. Kuroko sprinted into position. The ball flew in his direction and he expertly redirected it to Kise. With an elegant fade away flawlessly copied from the opposing team's captain the ball went sailing into the basket just as the clock hit zero.

"Yes!" Kise pumped his fist and dashed to Kuroko. He lifted him and swung him around while beaming. "Great pass, Kurokocchi!"

"That fade away was unnecessarily flashy, Kise-kun. Also, please put me down." Kuroko deadpanned, face blank and unreadable as always. Kise frowned and softly set him back down, looking like a hurt puppy. A miniscule smile tugged at Kuroko's lips for just a moment as he said, "but good job."

Kise brightened immediately, as if a switch was flipped, and hugged Kuroko tightly. "That makes me so happy! I love you, Kurokocchi~!"

"Come on. We have to line up," Kuroko said once he was released from the constricting grip.

Kise happily took his place in the line between Midorima and Kuroko. Several members glared at him, but said nothing. "Thank you for the match!"

Kuroko trailed behind the others as they walked back to the locker room. Despite winning the game, he couldn't help but feel a dull pain in his chest as he looked at Kise's back. The persistent question always nagging at him rose again: does Kise really love him? Does Kise really _love_ him? It's a question that he wished he had the confidence to know the answer to.

"Kurokocchi?" Kise inquired. Kuroko snapped out of his trance and found Kise's questioning face much too close to his own. Reflexively, he backed up and edged off of the bench in the process.

"Watch out!" Kise reached forward and wrapped a hand around the back of Kuroko's head, protecting it from impact. He pulled the smaller boy towards his chest and asked, "are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Kuroko felt Kise's chest rumble as he spoke and was so distracted by it and their proximity that he nearly didn't hear what he said. "I-I'm fine."

Kise released a sigh in relief, apparently not noticing Kuroko's stutter. "I'm sorry for surprising you. I was calling you for a while but you didn't respond."

"Ah, I'm sorry. My mind was elsewhere," Kuroko mindlessly answered, voice slightly muffled.

"Oh! S-sorry!" Kise let go of him so abruptly that Kuroko, without thinking, grabbed his shirt and clung to him.

"K-Kurokocchi? What's wrong?" Kise asked and Kuroko noticed that his voice went slightly higher.

He had two options. One: he could take the opportunity to confess his feelings for the blond and hope for the best. Or two: he could act as if it was nothing.

_If only I had the courage…_ Kuroko thought as he steeled his expression and pushed himself away from Kise's warm chest.

"It's nothing. I just felt like I was about to fall again," Kuroko lied. Trying to erase the sour taste it left behind he changed the subject, "did everyone already leave?"

"Yeah. A while ago, actually. I had to stay behind to sign a bunch of autographs and I noticed you were still here," Kise replied, seemingly already forgetting about the incident.

"That must've been exhausting." Kuroko stood and picked up his bag. He noticed that he was already changed and his bag was packed.

_I must have been really out of it to not even be aware of what I was doing._ Kuroko swung the bag's straps onto his shoulder.

"Just a bit. I'm used to it though." Kise shrugged and picked up his own bag.

Kuroko led the way out of the locker room and Kise cheerfully followed. Kise rambled about something that Kuroko couldn't remember and before he realized it, they had already reached the fork in the road where they would have to part.

"I'm sorry for interrupting, but I have to go that way now." Kuroko pointed to the left road.

"Oh, right! I didn't realize we were already here!" Kise laughed and rubbed his head sheepishly. "I'll see you tomorrow, then! Bye-bye, Kurokocchi!"

"Bye-bye, Kise-kun." Kuroko waved briefly before turning away to walk the rest of the way home alone. As he turned around the corner, he saw Kise still watching him. Upon noticing Kuroko looking at him, Kise waved again. Kuroko couldn't help but smile and wave back before continuing around the corner.

He cried himself to sleep that night.

* * *

The loud squeak of sneakers echoed throughout the gymnasium as the Teikou basketball club practiced passing rapidly while running. Nearly every other pass was directed at Kuroko, who redirected it towards a new target.

"Faster," Akashi demanded. Despite the fact that they were already running and passing at their limits, not a single person dared to disobey.

The ball sailed from Murasakibara to Kise to Aomine, zigzagging across the court in barely a second, before making its way toward Kuroko to pass to Midorima to make a three-point shot from the half-court line. However, when the ball reached Kuroko, it was redirected a couple feet to Midorima's left. Midorima cursed and adjusted his position to catch it, then threw it into its high arc ending in the basket.

"Kuroko! What kind of pass was that?" Midorima scowled.

"I'm sorry. It won't happen again." Kuroko wiped the sweat from his forehead with his wristband.

"That's what you said last time," Midorima said, raising his voice in frustration.

"Tetsuya, run three laps around the school. Maybe you can bring back your focus then," Akashi commanded.

"…I understand." Kuroko bowed and walked outside to begin his laps.

Kise watched him leave, eyebrows furrowed with concern, and murmured, "Kurokocchi…"

* * *

By the time Kuroko finished his final lap, everyone had already gone home. Kuroko rested his hands on his knees and panted heavily as he tried to regain his breath. Despite three laps being a huge struggle for him, he was thankful that Akashi put his low stamina into consideration and gave him half of the laps he would give to the others.

Kuroko heard footsteps approaching him, then stop before him. He didn't have to look at the shoes to know who it was; the familiar slow, casual gait had already told him. Kuroko took one last gasp for air to stabilize his breathing before straightening his posture.

"Hello, Kise-kun," Kuroko greeted. "Were you held up by the fangirls again?"

"No, I was waiting for you," Kise replied bluntly. He shifted his weight from one foot to another. A look of unsure concern was etched onto his face.

"Ah, I apologize for the wait, then." Kuroko dipped his head slightly in a tiny bow.

Kise stared at Kuroko silently, appearing to have a mental conflict as to what to say next. He opened and closed his mouth, searching for the words but finding none.

"Thank you for the concern, but I'm fine," Kuroko finally said. It wasn't difficult to know what Kise wanted to ask. "It's nothing important."

"It can't be something unimportant; you've been acting weird since yesterday. What's wrong, Kurokocchi? You can tell me," Kise blurted.

"It's… not something I can tell you." Kuroko averted his gaze to a lone basketball left on the court. It was unusual for them to not put away all of the basketballs after practice. He would have to do it before he leaves.

"Something that you can't tell _me_ specifically?" Kise asked.

Kuroko didn't respond. Kise took the silence as his answer and a wounded look made its way onto his face.

"Am I that difficult to trust…?" Kise bit his lip. Tears beaded at the corners of his eyes.

Kuroko winced at Kise's pained tone. It hurt him to cause such a hurt look on Kise's normally bright and carefree face. Guilt ached dully in his chest. "Why does it bother you so much?"

"Because I love you, Kurokocchi!" Kise declared loudly. There was a pause as the words echoed in the empty gym before he added, "you're my precious teammate. Of course I'd be concerned…"

Something dark and heavy flared inside of Kuroko at Kise's words. They were the very words that caused him so much grief and suffering. The words that made him cry when nobody was looking.

"Stop it, Kise-kun," Kuroko whispered, trying to keep his wavering voice neutral. He clenched his fists and looked down as he tried to suppress the fury burning inside.

"Kurokocchi?" Kise took a step towards him and reached out a hand. "Please tell me what's wrong."

"I said stop it, Kise-kun!" Kuroko slapped his hand away. "Stop saying that you love me! It's annoying!"

Kuroko felt angry tears rise to his eyes and he blinked them back. _I will not cry in front of Kise-kun._ He walked as quickly as he could to the locker room and locked the door. He slowly sank, resting his back against the door, and brought his knees up to curl himself into a ball. He only rose from his position when he was sure Kise had left.

* * *

For the next five days Kuroko purposefully avoided Kise and only interacted with him when absolutely necessary. Everyone had immediately noticed that something had happened between the two, but couldn't say anything to either of them to fix it. Every time Kise attempted to corner him to confront him, Kuroko dismissed himself with an excuse of unattended business. Kuroko's treatment made the depressed blond huddle in the corner with a gloomy aura looming darkly at every break. Naturally, the lack of connection between the two had caused everyone's play to suffer.

On the sixth day Akashi had enough. He raised a hand and the ball immediately came to a rest. Everyone stood at attention, preparing themselves for whatever the merciless captain could mandate upon them.

"Tetsuya, Ryouta, come here. The rest of you, continue." The pair did not hesitate to obey. Heads hung to avoid eye contact, they quickly walked to their captain as the rest of the team continued with their practice.

Akashi silently led them to the storage room before saying, "you know why I'm calling you two out."

"Yes, sir," Kuroko and Kise replied in unison, both stiff before their captain.

"This kind of behavior is unacceptable. I have been waited for you to settle it on your own since I thought you two were old enough to do it without a moderator, but I see I overestimated you. You _will_ talk it out and you _will_ settle this now." Akashi pushed them into the storage room roughly and slammed the door shut. The click of the lock confirmed the unspoken threat that they would not leave until they had made up.

"…Kurokocchi." Kise looked at him with pleading eyes. "Please tell me. I don't care if it's something that will hurt me. Just _please_ tell me what's bothering you. I can't promise that I can make it better, but I will do anything and everything I can to try."

Kuroko kept his gaze away, avoiding eye contact. He wasn't sure if he could control his emotions if he looked at him.

"Kurokocchi… _Please_," Kise begged. When Kuroko refused to reply, he tried a different route. "At least tell me what you meant last time. About how it's annoying that I tell you that I love you."

More silence. Kise trudged on. "I won't say it anymore if it really bothers you that much… but I really love you. That's why I say it. You make me happy so I love you."

"Again, you're acting like a stupid puppy," Kuroko mumbled.

"Eh?" Kise blinked.

"_That_ is what annoys me, Kise-kun. Your affection for me is no different than a puppy's affection for its owner: blind and innocent. As long as they make you happy, you'll blindly shower them with the same love. You don't care who it is and you just raise their hopes without even giving them the slightest consideration of how they feel. There is no difference between your like and love," Kuroko's normally even voice shook.

Kise stared at him in shock. "…Are you talking about yourself, Kurokocchi?"

"Is that not obvious?" Kuroko flushed in realization of his lost restraint.

"Can I take this as a love confession, then?" Kise asked hesitantly.

Kuroko responded with silence, cheeks darkening even further.

"Kurokocchi!" Kise gathered Kuroko into a tight hug. "I love you too!"

Kuroko violently squirmed out of Kise's grasp. Kise tilted his head in innocent confusion.

"Did you not listen to me at all? I'm saying that your love is different from mine! I love you as a man!" Kuroko grabbed onto the hem of his shirt and squeezed tightly. He could feel hot tears rise again.

Kise took Kuroko's smaller hands in his and gently coaxed them out of their frustrated grip. He brought the hands to his face and pressed a kiss to the back of them. "You've really made one hell of a misunderstanding, Kurokocchi. I've been saying all along that I love you that way. Not as a friend, and not as a teammate. I want to be Kurokocchi's boyfriend and I want Kurokocchi to be my boyfriend. I want to be together all the time, now and forever."

"You say such embarrassing things… But I want the same." Kuroko smiled.

As if on cue, there was the click of the door unlocking and then it opened. Kuroko snatched his hands away from Kise and used them to shield his eyes from the bright contrast of light flooding into the dark room. When his eyes adjusted, he saw Akashi looking at them with a satisfied expression.

"I see you've solved the issue," Akashi said with an acknowledging nod.

"Yes, thankfully." Kuroko bowed his head slightly. All traces of his previous tender expression had been swept behind his normally blank mask.

"To make up for the inconvenience you two caused, both of your menus will be _tripled_ for a week, understood?" Akashi glared at them menacingly.

"Yes, sir."

"You can start with running laps around the school. Don't stop until I tell you to."

"Yes, sir."

Akashi whirled around and walked away to continue monitoring the other members' training. Kise leaned down and quickly pecked Kuroko on the lips. Kuroko blinked and looked up at him, surprise just barely registered on his face.

"I love you, Kurokocchi!" Kise flashed a wide smile.

"I love you too, Kise-kun." A warm light flickered in Kuroko's eyes. "Now, let's start running before Akashi-kun punishes us more."

When they ran outside, their hands were linked.

* * *

**And that brings an end to my second KiKuro fanfiction! I just can't get enough of these two; they're my OTP of all OTP's! It kills me that there are so few KiKuro fanfics out there…**

**I plan on making this story into a series of four (maybe five) parts, each part being a chapter of their love life, and calling it the 'Light Series' (I'm not very good at coming up with titles so don't pay much attention to it). Even though I've already got the plot outlined for all of the parts, I'm not very good with keeping up with my ideas so don't count on it…**

**I've also already come up with ideas and plot outlines for a couple other KuroBasu fanfictions for the pairings KiKuro (of course), AoMomoi, MuraAka, and TakaMido. Not all of those pairings particularly in that order and I may or may not slip in some smut in one of those…**

**Anyway, thanks for reading and I hoped you like it! Reviews would be greatly appreciated!**


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